Spring 2002 - Haverford College

The days immediately following the tragedy were among the most difficult.
With the help of countless business associates and friends, we set up a crisis
center in Manhattan for families to be together, collect information, share stories,
and begin to grieve. In those very early days, we also established the
Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund.
To be clear, this driving force is more
than a rallying cry; it is the defining
essence of our business culture and our
decision-making process. The partners of
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. committed to distribute
to Our Families 25 percent of the
profits of the company for the next five
years, including paying for 10 years of
their healthcare and pledging a minimum
of $100,000 in cash per family. We also
paid out more than $45 million in discretionary
bonuses to the families of our
lost colleagues in October and November.
The days immediately following the
tragedy were among the most difficult.
With the help of countless business associates
and friends, we set up a crisis center
in Manhattan for families to be together,
collect information, share stories, and
begin to grieve. In those very early days,
we also established the Cantor Fitzgerald
Relief Fund, headed by my sister Edie (see
related article, p.35). The fund, whose
expenses are completely underwritten by
the firm and myself, has raised and distributed
more than $14 million to our
families.
At the same time, a group of courageous
survivors worked around the clock,
beginning on the afternoon of September
11th, to make sure that our firm would
survive and that our system would be
ready when the markets reopened. You
see, Cantor Fitzgerald and eSpeed are the
NASDAQ and NYSE for U.S. Treasury
notes and bonds.
Inspired by the memories of those lost,
these heroes overcame every obstacle put in
front of them so that when the U.S.
Treasury Markets reopened on the morning
of September 13th, less than 48 hours after
the disaster, Cantor Fitzgerald and eSpeed
reopened. And when the equity markets
reopened on Monday, September 17th, we
were ready to service our customers as well.
In the ensuing months, our jobs have
not gotten easier, but we continue to move
forward. Our days and evenings are filled
with client meetings, strategy discussions,
negotiations, staffing decisions, new product
demonstrations, and talking to the
families of those we lost. Our people are
consumed with maintaining and growing
our leadership position in our markets.
But it is the connection to the Cantor
Families that is our motivation.
That’s why we have worked tirelessly
with the Special Master of the Victim’s
Compensation Fund to help the families
of our lost colleagues obtain fair compensation.
It’s also the reason why I hold
periodic family “town hall” meetings.
These energizing and reinvigorating sessions
generally last about three hours and
take place throughout the tri-state area
to accommodate those who find it difficult
to come into New York City. Whether
I am traveling to New Jersey, Long Island,
Connecticut, Staten Island, or Manhattan,
the rules are always the same. I start by
reminding everyone that after I have finished
speaking, I will answer every question
and will stay until there are no more
questions to answer. The meetings provide
everyone with a chance to speak and
be together, share their thoughts, and
keep up-to-date on vital information.
It is with great pleasure that I write
today about our extraordinary business
success. With all that has happened to our
company and our employees and through
all that they’ve suffered, I am proud to say
that both of our companies, Cantor
Fitzgerald and eSpeed (ESPD), were profitable
in the last quarter of 2001. Our business
success is more important now than
ever because we have rebuilt the foundation
upon which we can continue to support
Our Families.
In February, Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. distributed
to Our Families a total of approximately
$4.9 million dollars, representing
25 percent of our fourth-quarter 2001 earnings.
This is just the first installment and
we hope to have more exciting progress on
the horizon. Since September 11th, our
New York-area employees have been spread
out in three makeshift offices, two in New
Jersey and one in Manhattan. After months
of searching, we recently announced an
agreement for temporary office space in
Manhattan that will reunite these 352
employees under one roof. Words cannot
describe how fortunate I am to be bringing
such an amazing team of heroes together.
It is difficult to understand why I survived.
And it’s just as tough to consider
why my brother, friends, and colleagues
did not. They were there, I was not. But I
know they are rooting for us, telling us
to carry on in their honor. I know,
because if circumstances were different,
that’s what I would have wanted.
The achievements of Cantor Fitzgerald
and eSpeed are a tribute to the employees
we lost, and a testament to the
Herculean efforts of our surviving
employees and new hires. They are all
heroes. They get up every day and come
to work excited, dedicated, and anxious
to help the firm succeed. Our offices are
filled with an intense determination on
the part of every employee to rebuild
what was taken from us in order to care
for the families of our lost friends in the
way that they deserve. More than six
months later, I could not be prouder to
be a part of their team.
34 Haverford Magazine